FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) –
Airmen in the air transportation career field, also known as "aerial porters," can advance their training and capabilities here through the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Aerial Port Operations Course.
Held approximately 12 times a year at either Fort Dix or an away location such as Charleston AFB or Travis AFB, Calif., the APOC is taught by instructors from the center's Mobility Operations School Air Transportation Branch.
"Most Airmen go to tech school and learn everything about their job, but in the operational they get put in one specific area and kind of forget the rest," said Airman 1st Class Stephen Harper, 437th Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter. "I went through the course in January and it was just a great refresher on everything involved with the aerial port. It was great training and a great way to get updated on things that have changed in the Air Force."
The APOC is a Community College of the Air Force-accredited course offered to air transportation Airmen and logistics readiness officers, Sergeant Carson said.
"They not only come here and learn more about their job, but they also earn college credit in the process," he added.
Sergeant Carson said the course covers the main sections of aerial port operations to include air freight, passenger service, air terminal operations and functions done at higher headquarters, such as Air Mobility Command. The course also integrates the computer-based Global Air Transportation Execution System.
"This is the computer system that is used worldwide by aerial ports to track the movement of aircraft, cargo and passengers," Sergeant Carson said. "Here in the Mobility Operations School, we use a stand-alone training database that mirrors the actual GATES program used by aerial porters. This gives the students a chance to access the system and enter and process data into an exact replica system without challenging the integrity of the operational GATES program."
Sergeant Carson said this type of advanced training gives aerial porters a form of "standardization."
"If you put 10 aerial porters in a room and ask them to tell you what the aerial port business is all about, you will get 10 completely different answers," Sergeant Carson said. "Each port has its own way of doing things and our students come in with what they've learned at their home station. The APOC standardizes the training offered to its audience. Each of our lessons is derived from the regulation or instruction. In essence, this gets our students out of the shortcut method of learning and back on track with the regulations."
Staff Sgt. Paul Sweeney, an instructor and designer who recently taught as lead instructor for APOC 2008E, said the air transportation career field is very diverse and this type of advanced training is certainly needed.
"As aerial porters, we have so many different work centers," Sergeant Sweeney said. "They include passenger service, fleet service, ramp, (the air terminal operations center), load planning, data records, cape forecasting, aerial delivery and cargo processing. We are responsible for getting all the air cargo and passengers to the fight and then getting them all home. It is vital that aerial porters receive this training to advance their knowledge of the air transportation career field. In this course, the information covered helps aerial porters when they deploy, or when they are at home station."
It's especially on deployments where this kind of training pays off, Sergeant Sweeney said.
"When you deploy as an aerial porter, you could work a different work section than you worked at home station," Sergeant Sweeney said. "As an extra tool to draw from their toolbox of experience, this course gives aerial porters a comprehensive background on the entire aerial port operations picture. This knowledge, in turn, immensely helps the deployed aerial porter."
Sergeant Carson added, "A deployed aerial porter does not always have the time to ask why things are done in this sequence or why we use certain methods. Once an Airman has an idea about 'the big picture,' it will give that Airman a better understanding of why we do things the way we do them."
The course design and curriculum keeps up with the latest updates too, Sergeant Sweeney said.
"The Aerial Port Operations Course is always evolving," Sergeant Sweeney said. "I am constantly updating and reviewing all the information offered in this course to include lesson plans, course slides, course guide, tests and review games. When I arrived at the center, the air transportation career field had just changed computer systems, and it's through those changes that we train our Airmen to keep up and stay informed."
With each new class, the course designers also learn from their students as they provide valuable input, Sergeant Carson said.
"If there is outdated information or methods, they let us know," Sergeant Carson said. "If there are new trends out in the port that we are unaware of, they also keep us in the know. Our students keep us on pulse with the operational aerial port. Most of our students have deployed and fixed-station experience, so we try to capitalize on their feedback."
Whether they teach the course inside the center's walls or their instructors go on the road to the students, Sergeant Carson said they will continue to do their part to train air transportation Airmen to excel.
"We take pride in the importance our aerial porters bring to the Air Force," Sergeant Carson said. "Hopefully, as each class passes, we can share information and continue to make our career field the best in the world."
Editor's note: Using both resident and Web-based instructional media, the Mobility Operations School offers 64 courses. Besides APOC, the school teaches the Director of Mobility Forces Course and the Advanced Study of Air Mobility Intermediate Developmental Education and graduate program. Other courses cover topics in operations, tactics, intelligence, transportation, maintenance, aircrew resource management, and command and control from both a global and theater perspective. More information is available on the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Web site.